A story in this week’s New York Times says that drivers’ insurance companies get a lot of information from cars that are tied to the internet. They don’t know it, but their driving habits are being watched in a way that could change their insurance rates. GM’s OnStar Smart Driver service shares this information, but other automakers have similar systems. The Times article also mentioned LexisNexis, a company that collects this kind of data for the auto insurance market. Most brand-new cars come with internet services that let you use popular features like Wi-Fi hotspots, in-car apps, and remote controls. However, these “connected” cars could be a gold mine for insurance companies and automakers in terms of data about how people drive. A story in this week’s New York Times went into great depth about how tracked driving data can affect insurance rates and how far it can reach. One of the most important parts of the story is how automakers, especially General Motors, give information about their customers’ driving habits to companies like LexisNexis, which then sells that information to car insurance companies. The Times wrote about a case from 2022 in which the owner of a leased Chevy Bolt EV only knew that his insurance company knew about how he drove once his rates had supposedly gone up by 21%. The man said he didn’t know that his information was being sent and watched. That is the most important thing at hand. Even though automakers don’t always tell users the right way, they do collect information about their users. In order to get usage-based insurance, the user must agree to have their driving habits tracked. But, as the Times story says, more and more drivers who are driving internet-connected cars agree to have their data shared without realizing it. Concerns about privacy arise with connected cars, just like with smartphones and other personal gadgets. Many times, people agree to the rules of an app or update without reading the fine print and understanding them. If someone signs an agreement, some might say they must understand what it means. But it’s also reasonable to expect businesses to share private information openly and honestly. The Times claimed that California’s privacy regulator is looking into concerns about how automakers collect and share data. This may be the reason for the investigation. By utilizing its OnStar-connected services, particularly the Smart Driver program, which was initially made available on certain vehicles manufactured in 2013 and later, General Motors entered the driver tracking industry. The clients freely decided to be monitored for 90 days, but the Times thinks that many OnStar users may not know that they are now enrolled. Of course, this could also happen to owners of linked cars from different brands. According to a news release from 2022, LexisNexis’ Telematics Exchange has saved around 10 million car records. According to the announcement made by the corporation, more than sixty percent of automobile manufacturers are “now engaged and expected to be integrated with data available for insurers by the end of 2022.” Reading the privacy rules of any connected car services you may have signed up for is the best way to find out if your driving habits are being tracked and shared. The Fair Credit Reporting Act also says that they can get a customer disclosure report from LexisNexis.
